On Tuesday, President Donald Trump made controversial remarks attributing the responsibility for the onset of the Ukraine-Russia war to Ukraine itself, suggesting that the country could have prevented the conflict by negotiating a deal with Russia.
“You should have never started it,” Trump stated at his Mar-a-Lago estate, responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s concerns about being sidelined in U.S.-Russia talks held in Saudi Arabia. Trump further claimed he could have secured a peace deal for Ukraine that would have preserved nearly all its territory without the loss of life or destruction seen in the conflict.
These comments follow Zelenskyy’s public statements in Turkey, where he emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s inclusion in discussions about its own future. “Any country has bilateral relations with other countries; please, discuss whatever you want, but you cannot make decisions without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine, the terms, or other conditions,” Zelenskyy asserted, highlighting his exclusion from the recent Russo-American meeting.
The Ukrainian Embassy did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements, leaving the Ukrainian government’s official reaction unclear.
Meanwhile, Trump’s remarks have been warmly received in Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised the U.S. president for acknowledging what he described as the “root causes” of the Ukrainian crisis, particularly the NATO expansion policy of previous administrations. Lavrov noted, “This is already a signal that he understands our position,” indicating a perceived shift in U.S. foreign policy favorable to Russian interests.
This week also saw the U.S. and Russia agreeing to re-establish embassy staffing, a move Zelenskyy stated he was not informed about beforehand, highlighting communication gaps between the involved parties.
Trump has previously made supportive comments towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, including suggesting that Ukraine should not have resisted the 2022 invasion and questioning the need for new elections in Ukraine as part of peace negotiations, echoing Putin’s criticisms of Zelenskyy’s leadership.
Ukraine’s last presidential election was in 2019, with subsequent ones postponed due to the ongoing war, a situation supported by the country’s constitution. Recent polls by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology indicate that 57% of Ukrainians still trust President Zelenskyy.
These developments signal a complex geopolitical landscape where diplomatic statements and actions are scrutinized for their implications on the ongoing conflict and international relations.
